The Geoff James Pool is the Clovelly ocean pool: a tidy 25 m, four-lane saltwater pool on the concrete promenade of Clovelly's long, sheltered bay. It's free, with a cafe and showers close by, and when you're done with laps, the snorkelling bay is right beside you.
Key facts
- Type
- Ocean pool or baths
- Length
- 25 m
- Good to know
- Toilets, Showers, Parking, Cafe nearby
- Facilities and access
- Toilets, showers and cafe nearby; best parking is the large Clovelly Beach car park on the southern side of the bay
- Managed by
- Randwick City Council
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- Not at the pool
- Parking
- Clovelly Beach car park, south side of the bay
- Best time to go
- Mornings, not Fridays
- Water quality
- FairClovelly Beach, 0.1 km away. Sampled 28 Oct. Data: NSW Beachwatch, CC BY 4.0.
- Cleaning
- Cleaned weekly, mostly on Fridays
- Town
- Clovelly, NSW
What it's like
Clovelly is a narrow inlet that barely gets any surf, and the pool sits on its southern side, a neat rectangle of lanes beside the wide concrete terraces where locals sunbake. The water is pumped in from the bay around high tide with no chemicals added, so expect the odd bit of seaweed. Built in 1962, the pool is named after Geoff James, the Clovelly surf club president whose hand-drawn plans persuaded the council a pool would save on concrete along the promenade.
When to go
Mornings are best for laps. It's cleaned weekly, mostly on Fridays. On sunny weekends the terraces are packed by mid-morning.
Getting there and facilities
The best parking is the large Clovelly Beach car park on the southern side of the bay. Toilets, showers and a cafe are nearby. Buses run to Clovelly from the city and Bondi Junction, and the Bondi to Coogee walk passes right by.
Good to know
Entry is free. There are no lifeguards at the pool itself.